Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Price Target Raised to $305.00

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) had its price objective boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $295.00 to $305.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Ecolab from $306.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Ecolab from $285.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ecolab from $295.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $257.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecolab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

Ecolab Stock Up 0.8 %

ECL stock opened at $269.87 on Monday. Ecolab has a twelve month low of $217.05 and a twelve month high of $273.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $76.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.57, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.30.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ecolab will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 856 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.37, for a total transaction of $228,868.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,911.80. The trade was a 17.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $264.51 per share, for a total transaction of $105,804.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,964,059.17. This represents a 2.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,435 shares of company stock valued at $4,637,985 in the last 90 days. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ecolab

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.